O, for a Faith That Will Not Shrink

O

for a faith that will not shrink

Though pressed by ev­ery foe

That will not trem­ble on the brink

Of po­ver­ty or woe!

That will not mur­mur nor com­plain

Beneath the chast­en­ing rod;

But in the hour of grief or pain

Will lean up­on its God.

A faith that shines more bright and clear

When tem­pests rage witho­ut;

That when in dan­ger knows no fear;

In dark­ness feels no doubt.

That bears un­moved

the world’s dread frown

Nor heeds its scorn­ful smile;

That sin’s wild ocean can­not drown

Nor its soft arts be­guile.

A faith that keeps the nar­row way

Till life’s last spark is fled

And with a pure and heav­en­ly ray

Lights up a dy­ing bed.

Lord

give me such a faith as this

And then

whate’er may come

I’ll taste

e’en here

the hal­lowed bliss

Of an eter­nal home.